


Sword, prayer and crossbow

by Olem_Iwetus



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Clothes tearing, F/F, Fantasy, Futa on Female, Futanari, Humor, Masturbation, Minor Violence, Other, Plot, Possession, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-10-09 10:11:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17404973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olem_Iwetus/pseuds/Olem_Iwetus
Summary: A young lady's adventures in a world filled with might, magic, and surprisingly high amount of pretty girls (and many of them have dicks). Time and time again she finds herself interacting with said girls, closer than she would like. Can our heroine brave it all and keep her dream of meeting Prince Charming intact?





	1. The silent knight

**Author's Note:**

> First attempt at writing a bigger salacious story. Expect some plot and non-sexual events, dear reader.

The summer rain was pouring down upon plains and forests, discouraging man and beast alike from leaving the sanctuary of their homes. A large tavern stood in the middle of a village, sheltering a few souls who got caught by the rain nearby. Among them was a young woman named Lily, who was drinking water from a mug and brooding over her present situation.

“Well, you are out of luck, young lady. Things are pretty bad around here, so most of the quests are beyond capabilities of a lone adventurer like yourself.”

Lily raised her head from her mug to look at the speaker. The innkeeper, a man of advancing years named Richard, was smiling at her over the counter while polishing a glass with a piece of cloth. Lily sighed. Richard was right, the questing board of the tavern was filled with ludicrously difficult nonsense. "Enter the Citadel of Blood and vanguish Kraabus the Godbeater". Bah! Even if you have a strong enough party, why would you do that? It's boring as hell in there.

“Maybe you should join a party? Parties have more options than loners.”

Lily frowned, nestling into her gray cloak. She was trying to quest alone, not trusting other adventurers. Many of the quest-hunters were troublesome to say the least. Thieves, perverts, overly eager idiots with complete lack of awareness... However, her money and supplies were running low in light of recent situation with quests. It seemed that she had no choice but to get over herself and look for a company.

“Is there any around here that I can join?”

“Well, let's see... There is a pair of adventurers that will most likely return here at least once. If my memory serves, they mentioned that they could use some more manpower.”

“Thanks, Richard. I'll stick around until they do then.” said Lily, returning to her mug. However, before she had a chance to meet her possible comrades-in-arms, a rather different kind of party arrived at the inn.

***

“Well, what do we have here? Have you prepared the money, old man? Or you decided to part with some goods?”

Lily turned her head. Several mean-looking men were standing near the front door, their demands, drawn weapons and ugly smiles proclaiming their trade.

“I thought I've clearly stated my position during the last time we've talked,” said Richard, pulling a battered sabre from under the counter. “But it seems that your skull is too thick to understand a simple 'bugger off before I've decorated my fence with your hides' suggestion...”

A large hulking brute wearing several leather straps over his bare chest – apparently, a leader of the bandits – shrugged, grabbing a blood-stained flail from his belt.

“We would have preferred the easy way, but if you insist...”

Lily was far from happy. The bandits easily outnumbered a few visitors and patrons currently present at the tavern, not to mention the fact that none of the latter looked like they knew how to fight at all. Maybe bandits had no business with her and she could slip away unscathed. Tough luck for Richard and his inn, but... She is just one adventurer, no way she can right every wrong in the world, save every innocent soul...

“What are you staring at, wench? Get lost, we have no time for you!”

“Yeah, beat it! It's clear from your crappy look that you have nothing of worth on you.”

“And your hair sucks, you look like a dude.”

Lily kicked her stool away and grabbed her trusty crossbow. These bastards will pay dearly for assaulting the inn which served her food and drink.

“Oh, look, she's angry! Did that hurt?”

Not dignifying further jeers with response, Lily unloaded the crossbow into a bandit holding one of his own and unsheathed her sword. With so much bandits close to her she had no chance of reloading the crossbow. Things looked grim – without any guards or other adventurers around, it was only a matter of time before bandits would prevail over her and Richard by sheer mass of numbers.

However, she was not going to give up. If they wanted her dead, they'd have to work for it. Such state of affairs was clearly making the intruders unhappy. Successful banditry usually involves picking unfair fights and robbing defenseless victims. Not laying down your lives in a fight with a cornered adventuress and a stubborn innkeeper.

“Come on, why do you resist so much?!” shouted one of the bandits. “It's not like you can kill us a-”

Before he could finish, a blast of holy energy vaporized most of his head and the dead body toppled to the floor.

“Cease your foul work at once, evildoers!”

A woman clad in white robes was standing near the front door, her hand glowing with a pale white light. Lily had no idea who this woman was – however, she was not going to ask questions in the situation at hand. Bandits were, though.

“Hah! And why do you think we should listen to you? Even with fancy magic, you are no match for all of us.”

The woman smiled, pointing sideways with a thumb.

“I'm not. But he is.”

Lily was puzzled. Only things in the direction indicated by the woman were a large closed gate, which was used for delivering goods into the tavern, and two bandits before it. The latter exchanged an apprehensive glance upon realizing how they suddenly became a target for every single pair of eyes in the room. Bandit leader turned back to the woman, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

“I'm not sure what do you me-”

The rest of the phrase (as well as any other sound in the tavern) was drowned out by a thunderous crash. A mighty blow impacted the gate, opening it wide and squashing the two bandits against the wall with it. Towering, menacing shadow loomed in the doorway, holding a massive sword in one hand. It strode into the inn, revealing itself to be a knight clad in plate armor. His enormous height easily dwarfed the bandit leader and everyone else present. The woman smiled.

“Perfect timing, old pal.” She turned around, blasting another bandit with her magic. “Do you see my point now?”

“I do!” barked the leader, running towards the front door and leaving his lapdogs to fend for themselves. “But even if your friend is strong, he'll have to catch up with me fi-”

His tirade was cut short as Richard displayed remarkable agility for his age and lunged after the bandit, driving the blade into his neck.

“As you can clearly see here...” said the innkeeper, pulling his bloodied blade from the corpse and holstering it in one smooth, if somewhat theatrical, motion, “... size does not mean everything. Even if you are a bondage-obsessed brute as large as two men, you hit the floor as fast as anybody else, given that your opponent knows how to use a sharpened blade.”

He smiled at his allies, and remaining bandits who were too busy shaking with fear to properly understand him. “Now, if you'll excuse me for leaving the rest of killing to you, I have an inn to run.”

***

Lily sat at the table, wolfing food with every sign of delight. Grateful for their assistance in defending the tavern, Richard offered the three adventurers a meal on the house. Lily rarely turned down a bite of decent food, and the fact that she was forced to ration her money during last few weeks was not helping any. Despite this, she spared enough of her attention to have a better look at the other two.

A woman introduced herself as priestess Alzavia. Her hair was similar in color to Lily's own blond one – however, adventuress' practical pixie cut, so unceremoniously labeled by a bandit, was much shorter than priestess' slightly wavy locks reaching past her shoulders. Lily was surprised that, unlike many other cloth garments worn by adventuring women, Alzavia's robe was neither skin-tight nor showing bare skin below the neck. Still, the forms visible under the robe drove some needles of envy into Lily's heart, because woman of faith sported a bust which was considerably larger than her own average-sized one. Apart from the white robe, Alzavia wore a belt with several pouches and an amulet on her neck.

Her friend did not bother to introduce himself and ate nothing. In fact, the knight was not moving at all, sitting on the bench with his arms folded on his chest. Lily tried to start a conversation with him, but failed to get a single word in return. Alzavia chuckled.

“Oh, don't mind Dor. He has somewhat... Peculiar convictions regarding many things, social interaction being one of them. He rarely speaks, even to me, and eats only when completely alone.”

Her words made sense to Lily. Dor's armor, while covered with unmistakable traces of combat, was completely devoid of any heraldic signs, crests or emblems – rare case among knights, who usually take great pride in proclaiming their titles, sovereigns, knightly orders and other things. Well, maybe he follows some kind of religion which condemns wealth and other worldly things, and tries to reduce his connection with the temporal world to a minimum, thus shunning the company of others and taking food in solitude. Better to leave him alone then.

At some point Richard confirmed Lily's suspicions – these two were indeed the party he mentioned earlier. After pondering for a minute or two, Lily asked the duo to let her join them. Maybe they weren't a party of her dreams – which Lily's wishful thinking always populated with charming men and cute boys, all of them drooling over her – these two looked like they could handle themselves. Not to mention the fact that parting ways with them meant proceeding further down the road of rationing and desperation.

“Well, I think we can join forces with you. You seem to know a thing or two about using sword and crossbow. And our capabilities, despite including Dor's indomitable might and my humble holy magic, are limited, narrowing the range of quests we can undertake. So, unless my friend has something to say...”

Not a word.

“Well then!” Alzavia smiled and offered Lily a hand. “Welcome to the party!”

“Thanks, lady Alzavia,” replied Lily, accepting the handshake and smiling in return.

“No need for that, my friend, I'm not a pompous duchess. 'Alza' will do just fine.”

***

In the following days, Lily's confidence about her choice of party started to waver. While their party performed rather well in combat – opponents were having a hard time getting past the knight's sword and those not eviscerated by it were obligingly dying to holy magic or bolts – the moments between the fights were uneasy, at least for Lily. What grated on her nerves more and more as the time passed was Dor's silent demeanor. Huge, wordless knight with face and eyes invisible in the shadows under his helmet's visor intimidated her, and more than once she had a feeling that he was staring right at her.

“Well, your concern is understandable,” said Alza when Lily voiced her worries to her. They were sitting near a campfire while the knight wandered into nearby forest in search of firewood. “However, you have nothing to worry about. I've known Dor for a very long time and I assure you – while our friend may look scary, he bears no malice towards his allies and friends.”

Lily was far from convinced, but leaving the party was not an option. Maybe it was all in her head? Well, as it turned out, the truth about the knight was far beyond her wildest guesses...

***

“Ha!” laughed Lily. “Is that all? And I thought this undead-infested farm will pose some challenge. Well, what do we have here?” She bent over to pick up some kind of jewel from one of the defeated undead.

“WATCH OUT!” boomed a loud voice behind her. Startled, Lily tumbled to the side and landed on the grass. One of the undead was not quite finished and swung a rusty blade at the place where she was standing just a second ago, and then Dor drove a sword through its chest. Lily was speechless.

“Dor... You strayed away from your usual silence to save a friend's life... That's so no-”

“THAT'S RIGHT!” interrupted the knight. “AFTER SO MUCH TIME OF WAITING THERE IS NO WAY I'LL LET SOME DEAD BASTARD ROB ME OF SUCH A FINE ASS BY KILLING YOU.”

“Wha-wha-what?!” stammered Lily.

“YOU THINK I'LL LET SOME BITCH TAG ALONG JUST BECAUSE I NEED ANOTHER COMBATANT WITH ME? HA! THIS CLERIC WHORE IS DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB ON DAILY POLISHING OF MY SWORD, BUT HER HOLES ARE STARTING TO BORE THE HELL OUT OF ME. A FRESH COCKSLEEVE IS JUST WHAT I NEED. COME HERE YOU SLUT.”

“Nooo!” screamed Lily as plated gloves grasped at her legs. Thrashing wildly, she managed to break free, leaving a piece of her pants in knight's hands. Stumbling to her feet, she tried to run away, but a pair of gentle hands grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Don't resist, my dear.” cooed Alza with a serene smile on here face. “It may hurt at first – it definitely did in my case – but soon you'll start enjoying it.”

“No! No! NOOO!”

Lily jerked away and slammed her head into something hard. Momentarily dazed, she blinked a few times and her eyes slowly focused on the wooden wall of the tavern. She was lying on a bed in the room which they've rented.

“My friend, are you alright?” came Alza's voice from the other bed. “You screamed.”

“Y-yes, I'm fine.” mumbled Lily. “Just a nightmare, s-sorry for waking you.”

“Oh. Well, let's try to get some more sleep, we'll need our strength for that quest about undead in the morning. Do not hesitate to ask me for help if sleep will further elude you. Goodnight.”

“T-thanks. Goodnight...”

Lily tossed and turned in her bed for several minutes. What had she got herself into?


	2. Doom, gloom, and traps

Before venturing into the farm infested with undead, adventurers decided to have a breakfast at the inn and wait for the sun to rise in its full glory. Something Lily was grateful for, given how she still was somewhat ruffled after her nightmare. As she joined others at the table, she noticed a group of men at the only other occupied table in the inn, who were looking at her.

“... isn't that obvious? That lady is an adventurer, you should not follow her example.”

Lily arched a brow. The weather-beaten man clad in leathers and furs continued.

“You are hunting, not adventuring. You don't need to reload your crossbow fast – if you do, then you missed your mark and need another shot. Which is bad, because more shots mean more damage to the pelt. No, in a hunting crossbow you are looking for power, not speed. Go see old Reinard, he knows how to make a good crossbow...”

“Ah, I see.” said Lily to her companions, relaxing in her seat. “They are hunters and they discuss crossbows. Funny, I thought we were going to be exposed to some usual 'adventuring is bad, spend your life at farming' lectures common to peasant-folk.”

“I really hope they keep it that way.” replied Alza with vehemence, looking at the hunters angrily. Lily was surprised at such hostility from usually calm and friendly priestess.

“What do you mean?”

At this moment another hunter, a chubby middle-aged fellow, banged the table with his fist.

“Ha-ha, Reinard's crossbows are the best! But you know what's better? Traps!”

Alza groaned and slammed her forehead into the table, startling Lily. Some of the hunters noticed that, but the speaker continued, oblivious to the priestess freaking out behind his back.

“Yes, traps! Like, the best thing in the world! Why run around with a crossbow when you can lay down some iron chompers, or dig a hole, fill it with spikes, and mask it with leaves! Nothing beats a satisfaction of seeing your prey walking right into your carefully planned ambush!”

“No! Traps are gay!” barked a tall, burly hunter, joining the conversation. “Hiding like a coward and letting some mechanical knickknacks catch a beast for you! That does not befits a true man! Crossbow is a bit better, but I tell ye – a real, manly hunter goes against a beast head to head, with bear-spear in hand!”

“Wrong!” riposted the first one. “That's brutish and does not suits us, humans. We are intelligent, unlike beasts! So we should use o-”

“ENOUGH!” roared Alza, jumping to her feet and startling Lily and hunters alike. “YOU BASTARDS SHUT THE HECK UP THIS INSTANT OR I'LL RIP YOUR HEADS OFF!”

The hunter's voice ceased in fear. The innkeeper, hearing the ruckus, left his post at the counter and approached them.

“Hey, hey, hey! No need to get so worked up, lady! You better calm down and-”

“I better not!” interrupted Alza, taking a step forward. “Time and time again, in every Goddess-forsaken inn and pub! All the same crap! Traps are gay! Traps are not gay! WHY THE HELL DO YOU CARE?!”

Innkeeper took a step back, obviously not too eager about getting close to the ball of holy magic gathering in Alza's trembling hand.

“You like traps?! Use them! You don't like traps?! Don't use them! How simple is that?! Why every pox-ridden deerfondler sees his holy quest in babbling about hunting contraptions and their influence on one's masculinity each and every time they talk to another one?! Is this supposed to be funny?! Is this some sort of tradition?! Anyway, it's friggin' cretinous!”

“Well... Uhm... You see...”, stammered the fat hunter, “my friend Fred does not understands, so I must enlighten him...”

“Shut up, Ron, everyone knows that tra-”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!”

***

The trio walked along the road leading to the farm, Alza still fuming after their encounter at the inn. Lily marveled at her friend's composure – furious as she was, Alza managed not to harm any of the bystanders and kept her outburst of wrathful destruction to incineration of the two offenders and a table. She even shoved some coins for the table into dazed innkeeper's hand before stomping away.

“Uh, Alza... I mean no offense, but... Can I ask something about... That...”

“Go on”, muttered the priestess.

“Well... You see... Isn't your faith... Like, advising against vaporizing people over a few words?”

“It is. But I'm sure the Goddess will understand, since I'm doing future generations a favor by weeding out brainless idiots. If not, then I'm ready to pay for my sins. Besides, we believe that a decent human being keeps their questionable forms of spending their free time to themselves.” A sudden thought crossed Alza's mind and she chuckled. “They should have proceeded with that debate in one of their houses, I'm pretty sure they do that all the time. Let's _settle_ this, Fred, here's my _main argument_. Oh, it's so _convincing_ , but here is _mine_! Wow, let me _think it over_...”

Lily giggled at the priestess' suggestive banter.

“Can't argue your logic here. Let's hope that we won't be prosecuted for this...”

***

The farm inhabited by the restless dead turned out to be more troublesome than anticipated. Undaunted by swords, crossbow and holy magic, scores of zombies and skeletons kept pressing on, eager to engage and slay the living. Dor worked hard to keep his companions safe, but holding such large groups of the undead at bay was beyond the abilities of a single warrior, even such skilled and powerful as the knight. More than once Lily had to put away her crossbow and fend off a stray enemy, who managed to evade the knight's wrath and approach the two women, with her sword. By the gods, thought Lily, what's the deal with this farm? For what reason there is so much undead here? Even if one considers the worst case, where the landlord's whole family, the farmhands and some random strangers got killed and reanimated by a crazy necromancer, the number of bodies was nowhere near enough to produce such large amount of mindless monsters. Had someone intentionally gathered such a host of the dead here? What for? Her musings were interrupted when Fortune decided that the situation wasn't looking interesting enough.

“Watch out!” yelled Lily as the door of a nearby cellar burst open, fresh cohorts of the undead pouring out and throwing themselves at the two women, brandishing their rusty weapons. Heeding her call, Alza turned to face the new threat, blasting the dead with her magic. Seeing that his backline is in danger, Dor scattered the undead surrounding him with a mighty roundhouse swing and rushed to his friends' aid. However, fast as he was, the distance was too great for him to intercept the new attackers in time.

Dropping the crossbow to the ground, Lily grasped her sword with both hands and stepped forward, protecting the priestess. While she wasn't a top-notch melee combatant, she was the most versatile of the three, hence she plugged the gaps in the party's capabilities in moments like this. Not that Alza was completely helpless in toe-to-toe combat – as the undead got too close and one of them, ignoring Lily, attacked the priestess, she dodged his swing and grasped his skull with her hands. A second later, the charred remains hit the ground, devastated by holy energy coursing through Alza's flesh.

It wasn't that easy for her companion. Frantically dodging and parrying attacks thrown at her, Lily did her best to fend off multiple opponents, but her prowess wasn't enough. Several times the enemies' attacks found their mark, bypassing the girl's defense and putting her leather armor to a test. Luckily, Lily only had to hold on for several seconds until Dor closed the distance and engaged the new enemies – thanks to Alza channeling holy magic into Lily, soothing and empowering her, she managed to withstand the assault. To party's relief, the ambush in the cellar turned out to be the last pocket of restless dead, providing them with a much welcome respite.

***

Alza observed her friend with a worried look on her face. As the undead hunt reached its conclusion, the party set up a campfire and assessed the damage they sustained. Unsurprisingly, none of the enemies managed to pierce Dor's armor, a few nicks and chips marking their best efforts. Meanwhile, Lily's condition was puzzling to say the least – while the priestess tended to her injuries and they were, according to her knowledge, nothing to worry about, the adventuress took great pains to contradict her. She kept whining and complaining about the wound on her shoulder (which was the most serious injury she received), yet failed to describe why or how exactly it was bothering her. Apart from that, wild prognostications and worries regarding the wound kept pouring out of her. It will get infected. It will not heal properly. The blood from it will attract predators. It wi-

“Lily!” exclaimed Alzavia, baffled by her friend's consistent nagging. “I know that you are hurt and in pain, but this is just unreasonable! You've been wounded before, you survived worse that this! This is just a cut which will he-”

“Oh, easy for you to say!” interrupted Lily, sitting on a tree stump and clutching her shoulder. “You are not the one who got injured! So easy to tell others to cheer up and deal with it! Oh gods, why the heck have I decided to join you two! If only I've listened to myself and stayed alone!”

Alza cupped her chin in her hand, trying to make sense of the situation. While her companion wasn't the most cheerful and optimistic person in the world, Lily was neither a crybaby nor a defeatist. The girl lived through several other battles and injuries with negative reaction within reasonable boundaries, making this sudden outburst of doom and gloom puzzling to say the least. Running out of logical arguments, Alza turned to her faith.

“Lily, please! I have no intention to mock or belittle you, I just want to help you. Have faith, the Goddess teaches us that there is always light in the darkness and-”

“Oh, hear, hear! She teaches! Well look at how good she taught you to heal! I have to suffer this terrible wound which will most likely be the end of me...”

Alza sighed as her friend descended into another ramble about the wound. Upon finishing her speech, Lily nestled into her cloak and sat motionless, eyes staring into distance. Noticing that the firewood was running out, Dor rose up from a log he was sitting on and walked away, disappearing in a grove not far from the camp. Suddenly, Lily spoke again, a note of despair evident in her voice.

“This Goddess of yours... Do you even know if she exists? What if she does not? What if she does, but does not care? Even if she does, and does, does it matter? One day, we will all die. One day, the world will end. One day-”

Alza sprang to her feet, grasping Lily by the neck.

***

Last rays of the setting sun lingered through the air, illuminating the silent farm with their waning light. Old bones and weapons littered the fields and paths, reminding the world of the undead menace which was, for a time, repelled here.

“What the heck was that?” muttered Lily, muffling up in her grey cloak. “I thought she'd choke me to death – that wouldn't have been that bad, come to think of it. I've had enough suffering in this miserable life, no need to prolong the pain any more. But no, she felt my neck for some reason, then my wound, and finally scuttled into the night. What is she thinking? What if some undead are still out there, laying in ambush...”

While Lily was lamenting, the knight returned with a fresh pile of firewood. Dropping it to the ground, he faced Lily, folding his arms on his chest. The woman raised her head, eyeing her companion warily.

“What do you want?”

Dor said nothing, standing motionless in front of her. Lily fidgeted on her stump, unsure what to make of the knight's behavior. Was he planning something? Were he and the priestess plotting against her?

***

Some evil force was at play, Alza knew it. It is unreasonable for Lily to act so dismayed by the wound, but let's accept that for a second. Then, it is reasonable to whine and complain. It is reasonable to perceive her friend as someone who mocks her and just tells her to get over it. In theory, it is possible to start insulting her friend's faith. But these last words, about the futility of existence... Lily's tone had been grim and lifeless when she uttered them. Those were not the words of insult, those were honest questions asked by a human who faced the vilest of horrors and completely, utterly lost their will to live, to think, to exist. A minor wound – an everyday thing for an adventurer – cannot possibly drive Lily into such depths of dread and hopelessness. Was there a deeper inner reason for it? Was she concealing something from her companions and just hiding behind a mask of a girl more or less happy with her life? Possible, but the priestess had another possibility in mind. And the key to that possibility was most likely hidden on the battlefield, lying among the broken bones and cracked skulls...

***

Upon returning to the bonfire, Alza found Lily struggling in Dor's grasp.

“Let me go, you brute! I need to take a look at the wound to make sure it's not getting worse! Wait, are you actually-”

“It seems that my precautions were necessary.” said the priestess with a smirk on her face. “Well done, Dor. Now, hold her hands behind her back.”

“What?! Hey! Wait!”

Ignoring his companion's protests, the knight moved her hands out of the way as instructed, while Alza faced her and began channeling holy magic.

“Stay with me, my friend!” said the priestess with a determined look on her face. “I will not let you succumb to despair!”

Uttering such words, Alza stepped closer and grasped Lily's head by the sides. The next instant she was kissing her companion, eyes closed in concentration.

The girl's breath caught in her throat, her afflicted mind attempting to process the situation. A few seconds later, a wave of relief and relaxation began spreading over her body, and the adventuress closed her eyes. What was happening to her? She felt like she was awakening from a nightmare, icy claws of hopelessness losing their grip on her heart. Why did she feel so terrible before? Everything was fine. The undead were defeated. Their reward was awaiting them. And, come to think of it, someone was kissing her passionately. Her eyes still closed, Lily began to reciprocate the kiss, exploring her partner's mouth with her tongue, bringing her hand – noticing the change of her body language, the knight stopped restraining her – to caress their cheek. The stranger's skin was soft to the touch, a pleasant scent was emanating from them, and their breasts were... Wait, a woman?!

Lily's eyes flew open and she attempted to jerk away. Feeling her friend's reaction, Alza released her and took a step back.

“Lily, listen to me.” said the priestess while maintaining the eye contact. “Can you hear me? Can you understand my words? Can you-”

“I do!” exclaimed Lily, unable to believe what the woman of faith did. “But... You... What happened?! Why were we-”

“Hush, my dear. Sit down and listen. I have much to explain...”

***

“... And I found exactly what I was looking for. The sword which inflicted that wound on you. Simply trying to touch it sent shivers down my spine. The very being of the sword is permeated with dark energy, which means that a powerful curse was placed upon it. Removing the curse from the sword is beyond my capabilities, but I managed to cleanse your mind. As for the kiss... I'm sorry, but I had to do it. The closer the contact, the easier it is for my holy magic to affect you. Also, the kiss was rather shocking for you, and it is much simpler to penetrate the defenses of a mind which is confused. I hope that you can forgive me. By the way, we should warn the quest giver about the sword when we meet him again.”

“Yes, we should...” replied Lily, who had been sitting on the stump and listening carefully. She lowered her eyes. “Thanks, Alza. What I felt back then was... Terrible. I'm happy that you were here to save me.”

“Don't mention it.” said the priestess, smiling softly. “I simply did my job as a party's healer, and as a friend.”

Later that night, Lily's thoughts weren't exactly in agreement with the “happy that you were there” part. Tossing around on her bed, the adventuress was unable to take her mind off her close interaction with the priestess for several long, sleepless hours.

“... Well, yeah, I did enjoy that-no, not the kiss! I enjoyed the feeling of... Uh... Of my mind being freed from the hold of the curse... It felt really awful before that... Aaargh! Why did it happen like this?! Ugh! Look, I'm happy that I was saved, but weren't there a better way?! Like, someone passing by? An elven mystic? An alchemist with a wondrous elixir to spare? Anyone else, as long as it was a handsome man, god damn it!”

***

Retrieving her sword from the lizardman's corpse, Lily holstered it and looked around.

“Nice job everyone! We are getting pretty good at working together.”

“You are quite right, my friend,” replied Alza, stepping over a charred lizardman body. “We even managed to get through this fight without a-oh my!”

“Huh?”

Following priestess' gaze, Lily looked at her leg and noticed a small cut.

“Oh... Well, this is just a scratch, give me a minute to banda-”

“What are you saying, my child?! We cannot be careless! Don't you remember what happened when we fought the undead?! It pains me just to think about you going through the same horror again! Quickly, we must act, now!”

“Hey, hold on, I don't even feel bad, why are you...” started Lily, slowly taking a step back from Alza. The priestess' countenance was anything but worried and concerned. Rather, she seemed happy to see the cut.

“Let's just bandage it and-”

“Absolutely out of question! Hold still so I can take a look and assess the damage!”

“Alza, wait-ahh!”

Before Lily could finish, the priestess dashed to her and, with surprising strength, tackled her to the ground, examining the scratch. After a few seconds, she jumped back to her feet, looking at Lily as a child may look at a new toy.

“Oh, this is terrible! Quickly, we must purify your mind! However,” Alza rambled further, “I'm afraid that a kiss won't do in this obviously more dangerous situation... We need... A closer connection...”

She grabbed the belt on her robe, unfastening it and dropping the garment to the ground.

Lily scrambled to her feet, looking for her sword. The priestess was clearly out of her mind – she wore nothing beneath the robe and one look at her womanhood glistening with arousal was enough to confirm Lily's suspicions about certain things taking much higher priority on her friend's mind than a process of purifying. Was it because that goddamn kiss gave her a taste? Was she a hungering lesbian all along?

“Hurry, my child!” urged Alza, advancing forward. “Strip! Then we-”

“Get away from me! You are insane!” barked Lily. Before she could turn and run, strong hands seized her from behind and lifted her from the ground.

“DO NOT RESIST, MY FRIEND.” said Dor as Lily wriggled in his grasp. “SHE'S A HEALER, SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING.”

“Gosh,” thought Lily, sitting on the bed and rubbing her sore forehead. “If things continue like this, I should start moving my bed away from walls in every tavern we stay.”


	3. Little helper from hell

“Well, it seems that it's here.” observed Lily with a smile on her face. “The only way to make it even more obvious is to add a 'Witch's Hut' sign.”

“It seems that you are right.” replied Alza, smiling as well.

Several hours ago the party arrived in a village. While smaller settlements tended to have a lower level of culture, education and wealth when compared to cities, this one seemed to be the rock bottom, or close to it. The inhabitants of the village – if a bunch of tumbledown huts can be called a village – couldn't care less for any possible thing that wasn't happening right in front of their noses and spend their lives working the earth. In such surroundings, the trio's expectations of finding any reasonable work on the questing board were almost non-existent. However, to their surprise and relief, one scrap of paper among the mess of “Wolfes killd ma hen, bad, ged ma five wolfes pelt, ma give ye a pumpkin.” looked promising.

The quest offered a “solid reward” for “expedition into dangerous place”, promising “more details upon meeting in person”, signed “Reavet the witch”. The party questioned the villagers about this Reavet, but the peasants refused to tell anything beyond directions to the witch's house and restrained warnings and rumors typical for someone who fears the witch due to lack of knowledge, but grudgingly accepts the fact that they have to deal with her if they want to have aid in surviving illnesses and other misfortunes. Now, after a bit of walking, the trio was standing before a construction that practically screamed “A WITCH LIVES HERE”. A large, ancient hut of uneven form with creaking, cobweb-covered walls decorated with hanging bundles of herbs and other curios, small windows glowing with eerie light, a grumpy raven perched on a roof and a large pot standing near the door. Alza knocked onto the door and, after several seconds of waiting, it opened slightly.

“What do you want?” inquired a senile voice.

“We are interested in a quest offered by a person named Reavet.” answered the priestess. “Is that you?”

“Yes. Come in.”

Stepping through the door, the three friends found themselves in a small, dimly lighted room. Dor had some trouble squeezing through the door, and had to crouch in the room, but endured it with his usual silent stoicism.

“So, is that all of your party?”

Following the stereotype set by her house (Or was it the other way around?), the witch turned out to be a repugnant crone. A pair of piercing yellow eyes, a large, twisted nose and a maw with two rows of uneven yellowish teeth were positioned on a wrinkled face in a manner uncaring for trivialities such as symmetry or proportions. A short, gnarled hand clutched a wooden staff, while the rest of the body was, thankfully, covered by an old black robe with a hood.

“Yes.” answered the priestess. “Is that not enough?”

“No, three and two should be enough. This way.” beckoned the witch, opening a door in the back of the room.

Following the hostess through the door, the trio found themselves in some sort of a dark storage room. As the witch closed the door behind them, Lily looked around. A layer of dust covered the floor, an old shelf and an assortment of jumble. A few spiders were sitting in the corners, casting disapproving glances at the humans daring to disturb their existence. There was nothing of interest here, no other doors – what were they supposed to do in here?

“I believe we won't need these anymore.” said the witch, rising her staff and slamming its lower end into the floor. A pulse of magic echoed through the room, changing the surroundings in a blink of an eye. Instead of some dusty cellar, the adventurers found themselves in a large, well-furnished hall. The hall was brightly illuminated by rows of massive chandeliers and decorated with antique sets of armor and finely-crafted sculptures. There were double doors on the opposite end of the hall, and a single door on each side.

“Welcome to my mansion.” sang a melodic voice behind the trio. The witch's form was an illusion as well – instead of the old hag, they were facing an attractive mature woman with a smile on her lips. The witch's black robe remained – however, it was much cleaner and newer, the hood was gone and a high gorget covered the woman's neck. Straight, raven-black hair fell down to the middle of the woman's back, while her staff was the only thing that remained the same.

“Greetings, Lady Reavet!”

A young woman, around twenty years or so, entered the hall through the side door and joined the gathering. Bowing slightly, she addressed the guests. “Hello, noble adventurers!”

“Hello, Thea.” replied the witch. “Ladies, sir – this is Althea, my apprentice.”

There was a stark contrast between the two sorceresses. Where Reavet was tall and composed, Thea was short and beaming with friendliness. Reavet's robe was dark as night, while Althea's one was almost as white as Alza's. The witch's dark hair was straight, while the apprentice sported a waterfall of blonde locks curling at the ends. These, however, were but negligible details compared to one significant difference – while Reavet's curves were modest yet pleasant, Thea's forms collided with one's gaze as a lumbering giant. First and foremost, she had a pair of enormous breasts, each one larger than her head – such bountiful mammaries were typically associated with dairy maids, not mages. The girl's hips and posterior weren't as impressive as her bosom, but still were nothing to be sneezed at. A pair of glasses was sitting on the girl's nose.

Lily suppressed a scowl. Alza, Reavet, now this apprentice with her chest of astounding proportions – what's the deal with all the pretty ladies? Can't she, for once, encounter an alluring man instead?

“Alright then.” said the witch. “Let us proceed to the portal room. This way.”

As they followed the witch through the mansion, Lily dropped the reins of her imagination, letting it run rampant across the plane of dreams. She, alone, traverses the dark forest to reach an ancient tower. The tower's master, an old wizard, needs her help in clearing a dungeon. Dungeon's horrors are powerless against Lily who briskly strides through the dungeon, her sword carving its crimson path through the throngs of monsters, while her crossbow rains down volleys of bolts upon them. One may notice that a crossbow usually requires two hands to fire and has to be reloaded after each shot, but let us not bother with such petty distractions at this grand moment, when Lily returns to the wizard and drops a bloodied head of the dungeon's largest monster to his feet. The wizard's illusional disguise dissolves into nothingness and, instead of ancient graybeard, an attractive, middle-aged man stands before the heroine. Short, well-kept black hair and immaculately trimmed beard frame his face, while his eyes shine with sagacity. Taking Lily by the hand, the magician leads her to the dining hall, which stretches as far as an eye can see. A bottle of finest wine is opened and the two slowly sip it from a pair of antique glasses while the wizard talks. Clearing the dungeon was of paramount importance for his studies and research, and he is deeply impressed by the girl's martial prowess. Lily drinks her wine, a confident smile of a seasoned veteran who gets the job done playing on her lips. The man's monologue continues, he tells the adventuress that her name was known to him before, for the stars whispered it to him when he wandered through the realms of unknown. They were destined to meet, and to be together. The wizard asks her, will she join him on his path of finding the truth? Putting down her glass, the girl moves her chair to sit beside him. Leaning closer to him, she whispers “yes” while her hand caresses his cheek. Reciprocating the affection, the sorcerer pulls her closer, their lips touch-

“And here we are!” announced the witch loudly, earning another scowl from the adventuress. Reluctantly letting her daydreams go, Lily looked around and found herself in yet another large hall. This one was not decorated in any way – the only things present in the hall were a large inactive portal dominating one of the walls, a pile of rubble near it, and a number of featureless columns supporting the ceiling.

“So, ladies and gentleman... Here's the deal.” began Reavet, stopping before the portal and folding her hands on her chest. “According to my research, there is a certain abandoned complex that contains a number of valuable artifacts. Furthermore, I managed to locate the complex and tune my portal accordingly. However, there is a problem.”

“What, some monsters are inhabiting the complex?” asked Lily.

“Well, pretty much. To be more precise, the complex is full of still functioning automata that were left behind by former masters of the place. The automata are sticking to their orders and meet trespassers with aggression.”

The witch took a step, kicking a piece of metal.

“As you can see here, I can teleport small groups of constructs here and defeat them. However, their numbers are very large, so dealing with them piece by piece takes a lot of time. I cannot afford that – chances are that someone else will discover the complex and challenge me. It must not come to that! I need these artifacts, the sooner the better.”

Pausing, the woman swept the audience with her gaze.

“That's where you come into play. With additional manpower, it should be possible to keep the portal open indefinitely and meet the constructs head-on. What do you say?”

“Seems reasonable. Let us discuss the price, and we should be ready to go.” answered Alza. “Oh, one more thing – you've met the constructs in battle, but we did not. I believe it would be wise to teleport another small group here before starting the full-scale operation, to see if we are up for the task.” she added.

“Agreed.” said Lily, and Dor nodded in confirmation.

***

The time slowed down to a halt, hour after endless hour crawling by at the pace of a snail on a floor covered with alchemical glue. Lily wearily trudged down the hall for what felt like thousandth time, exerting every last sliver of her willpower not to descend into madness. How did it come to this?!

The purge of the automata was proceeding well, an impressive barrage from the three casters and the sharpshooter laying waste to the ranks of attacking constructs, while the knight held the front as he always did. The portal room's floor was littered with piles of destroyed automata, hindering the movement of combatants. Thankfully, it seemed that the party exhausted the main mass of enemies in the vicinity of the portal's entry point, so the next step was to pass through the portal and take the fight to the complex.

As the party entered the complex and dismantled a few more constructs, an obstacle presented itself. Progressing along the corridor leading deeper into the complex, the five adventurers came across a lightning field blocking the way. The witch and the priestess were able to pass through the field by protecting themselves with magical barriers, while the knight simply strode through the hazard without flinching – however, Thea wasn't experienced enough to conjure a barrier and Lily had no means to safeguard herself at all. After fruitless search for alternative routes or some kind of power source enabling the field, it was decided to send Lily and the apprentice back into the manor to clean up while awaiting for the others' return. While it wasn't said that bluntly and formally the two girls were performing an important task of extracting the power cores from the constructs' remains for further usage, the result was the same – hours of tedious, mind-numbing work.

“Aaargh!” groaned Lily, dropping another pile of scrap onto the floor in designated storage room and kicking it in frustration. “This crap is killing me!”

“You can say that again!” answered Thea, launching another carcass into the same pile. While the apprentice was using magic to levitate the metal instead of hauling it, the process was exhausting nonetheless. “This is preposterous! There must be a better, more efficient way to do this!”

“Well, if you can think of something, then I'm listening.” said Lily, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “Because this is the only way known to me of getting the rubble from one place to another.”

“Oh, I have an idea!” exclaimed Thea, clapping her hands. “Why don't we summon a demon to do the cleaning for us?”

“What? A demon? Aren't they dangerous?”

“Some of them are, but not all. There are many different types of demons, and certain lesser ones, such as imps, are frequently used by summoners for performing menial tasks.” explained the apprentice. “Me and my mistress did it before, several times, and I'm sure that I can do it by myself.” she added with a glimmer in her eyes. “Oh, Lady Reavet will be so proud of me when she sees how much my abilities have grown!”

“Well, if you say so... Let's do it.” answered Lily, stretching her arms. “Anything to put an end to this mindless chore.”

***

Finding a clean spot in the hall teeming with defeated automata, the apprentice drew a pentagram on the floor and began to chant. The pentagram started to glow with an eerie, orange-hued light, sending shivers of apprehension down Lily's spine. However, seconds passed and no otherworldly being emerged from the pentagram. Lily raised a quizzical eyebrow at her partner, but Althea offered no explanation, staring at the summoning spot with a puzzled look.

“What's wrong?” asked Lily. “Does the ritual need more time to complete?”

“No, and it's strange.” answered Thea, taking off her glasses and looking at the pentagram again, yet finding no clues for solving the conundrum. “It should happen as soon as you complete all the parts of the procedure. First, you create a barrier around the pentagram to hold the demon inside. Second, you link together our world and demonic realm, so that they may sense a possibility of passage through the portal. Third, you weaken the walls of our realm inside the pentagram to help them in getting here – you know, binding a demon to your will or negotiating with them is hard enough, so why take it further by dealing with them when they are cranky after a difficult voyage between worlds?”

“Dunno.” replied the adventuress, gazing into the glowing circle. “I'm no mage, so to me it sounds to be the other way around – if the demon spends his or her strength to get here, they will be weakened and easier to subdue. But it seems that I'm wro-wait, is that all?!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” asked the apprentice, startled by Lily's sudden exclamation.

“The ritual!” barked Lily, taking a step back and drawing her sword while keeping her eyes on the pentagram. “Barrier, link, weakening! Only three steps?! How are we supposed to be sure that a mere imp comes through instead of some demonic overlord who'll rip our world to shreds and make a wreath out of them?!”

“Oh!” exclaimed Thea. “Dear me, I completely forgot, there are two more steps! You should, as the fourth ste-”

“Close the portal!” shouted Lily, her glance darting around the room in search of danger.

“But why?” inquired the novice. “We can just finish the ritu-”

“CLOSE IT! NOW!”

Startled by the screams, Althea complied, but before she could complete the incantation, Lily's fears came to life. With a loud, cracking sound, a clawed hand burst through the middle of the pentagram, trembling in the air with fingers outstretched.

“Don't stop!” commanded Lily. “We may yet keep it away from us! Keep casting!”

The hand stopped trembling and grasped at the floor, the claws tearing deep gouges in the stone. The edges of the pentagram started to darken once more, their unholy light petering out. As the circle of light began to shrink, Lily's spirits lifted – alas, her hope turned out to be forlorn. Before the circle could close around the hand, its owner emerged fully, “hoisting” themselves onto the floor from whatever realm “below” they came. To her credit, Althea continued to recite the spell and managed to close the portal before it could loose more demons upon the world.

The demon's appearance did little to improve Lily's mood, for it was yet another stunning woman. Beautiful otherworldly visage, magnificent hourglass figure and long, silky red hair with a single lock of white were bound to captivate all but the most strong-willed men – if a pair of large breasts failed to do so, that's it. Two short horns, bestial hooves and a spade-tipped tail would probably scare some away – but others, undoubtedly, would find them alluring. Surprisingly, the demoness's clothes weren't too revealing and actually covered her bust, her groin and her legs above the hooves. Apart from clothes and claws, she seemed to have no items or weapons on her. Sweeping the room with her eyes, the monster's gaze stopped on the women in front of her.

“Interesting world you have here.” purred the demonic lady in a mellifluous voice. “I think I'll take a look around it. Can't say the same for this place, though. Do you always bring your dearest guests into such rubble-ridden rooms?”

“You were supposed to clean it.” retorted Lily, clutching her sword tightly. “But it seems that we've got the wrong target, and now we are stuck with some kind of succubus.”

“Such stereotypical thinking, young lady.” chuckled the demoness, taking a step towards the girls and effortlessly crossing the pentagram's boundaries. “Oh look, an alluring female demon, she must be a succubus. Should I return the favor, miss I-cut-my-hair-short-to-look-tough?”

Lily's jaw tightened at the insult, but she wasn't going to let herself be provoked so easily. Stepping forward, she pointed at the demon with her sword.

“Why don't you skedaddle back to hell? We can avoid unnecessary damage to your pretty face in such case.”

“Oh, so scary!” laughed the demoness, folding her arms on her chest. “I don't think I want to leave just yet. Why would I do so without getting... Acquainted with this appetizing young mage here? And you as well. You aren't that tempting, but I think I'll take you for a ride. It's been a long time since I got to play with a pair of mortal sleeves.”

“What the heck are you babbling about?!” roared Lily, her composure giving under such a contemptuous comparison. “Ride?! Sleeves?! What nonse-”

With a pronounced, almost theatrical snap of her fingers, the demoness' garments faded into nothing, baring her exquisite body to the eyes of those present. Lily's tirade trailed off, while Thea gasped audibly and put her hands over her mouth. A large, imposing phallus was hanging from the monster's crotch, defying the definition of female sex known to stupefied girls. Taking advantage of their stupor, the demoness darted towards Lily and kicked at her arm holding the sword. Power of the strike sent Lily tumbling to the floor, the weapon slipping out of her grasp. Before she could rally, ethereal chain appeared out of thin air and bound her hands together. Another chain clasped around her neck and tethered her to a nearby column.

“Amusing.” intoned the demoness, holding Thea by the neck and looking at Lily who clutched her hand in pain. “Is it the first time you see a futanari? Your faces were priceless. Well, since the distractions such as swords and spells were dealt with, let us proceed to the interesting part...”

Lowering the frightened novice to the floor, back first, the fiend straddled her and leaned forward, mashing their lips together. Althea wriggled in the demon's grasp as her mouth was invaded by a long, meaty tongue. After several long, steamy seconds of making out, the demoness broke the kiss, watching in amusement as the girl, her face crimson, gasped for air. Not giving her prey much time for recovering, the demoness leaned down once more, subjecting Thea to another breath-stealing kiss. And another. And another.

The only thing keeping Lily from swearing loudly was fear of shifting the dickgirl's attention to herself by doing so. Therefore, the adventuress refrained from demonstrating her vocabulary, silently tugging at her chains with a determined look on her face. The situation at hand was ridiculous beyond belief – after encountering so many attractive women in one day (And not a single charming man, goddammit!), she was forced to “enjoy” a first-class demonstration of a make out session between two (almost) females. Furthermore, it was pretty obvious that the show was going to continue for quite some time, and then she would receive her own chance to get acquainted with a dick-wielding demon, closely and personally. No wonder that Lily tried so hard to get out of her bonds – alas, her exertions were fruitless. Whatever unholy metal these chains were made of, it was easily withstanding the woman's efforts.

Upon finishing the intense bout of kissing the fiend pulled away, enjoying her handiwork. The apprentice lied beneath her with eyes closed, her massive breasts rising and falling as she breathed heavily, exhausted by demonic assault. Naturally drawn to the huge mounds of flesh, the monster shuffled backwards to reach them easier. Driving her claws into the novice's robe, she tore away the part that prevented her from getting to her prize.

“Ah! No! Sto-ungh!”

Althea's pleas were cut short as the demon pulled her bra down, freeing the large mammaries, and brought her lips to one of them, sucking and licking the malleable flesh and the nipple crowning it. There was no respite for the apprentice, her other breast grabbed by a clawed hand, its nipple flicked and pinched. After playing with the orbs for some time, the fiend switched between them, repeating the process. Finally, she put her face between the breasts, mashing them together and savoring the feeling of being enveloped by their soft embrace.

“My, that's some top-notch fun bags, mortal.” said the demon, rising her head and looking the apprentice in the eye. “Let's see if your goods down below are a match for this pair.”

Shuffling even further backwards, the denizen of hell put her claws to use once more, revealing the frightened girl's body. Thea let out a squeal as her legs were spread open, and soon her tormentor was teasing the girl's honeypot with her lips and tongue. Not giving the apprentice much foreplay, the demon soon rose up into kneeling position and hitched one of Thea's legs onto her shoulder. One strong push and the demonic phallus slid inside the apprentice, squeezing a moan from the lips of the latter. Grasping the girl's upright leg for leverage, the demoness started to move her hips, roughly using her prey to satisfy herself.

Lily briefly stopped her struggles to take a look at the copulating women. While Thea's hands and mouth weren't restrained anymore, it was obvious that she had no options to fight back. The demon's claws were still dangerously close to the girl, ready to tear her apart the instant she tried to cast a spell. Although, given the apprentice's face twisted into a mask of utter ecstasy and the moans of pleasure pouring out of her in never-ending stream, it was unlikely that Althea was aware of her surroundings to realize that she was in danger. Cursing under her breath, Lily returned her attention to the chains.

Deciding that it was the time to try something else, the fiend stopped pounding and lowered the girl's leg back onto the ground.

“Now... Let's see you bounce.” uttering such words, the demoness leaned forward, embraced the busty apprentice and rolled onto her back, bringing her prey on top of her. Althea did not move, simply lying on her captor. Unsatisfied, the fiend slapped one of the girl's buttocks with the clawed hand. “I said – bounce! Come on, move!”

“N-no, I won't do somethi-” started the girl, but the monster slapped her again.

“Do it, or I'll tear you to shreds! Slowly, and painfully!”

Frightened, Thea obeyed the command. Moving herself into sitting position, she straddled the demon's groin and planted her feet onto the floor to the sides of the latter's body. Such position allowed the girl to straighten her legs a little, rising up with the monster's organ still lodged inside of her. After moving high enough, she let the gravity pull her back down, her derriere slapping against the demoness' thighs. Blushing, the girl attempted to repeat the action, but, before she could do it even five times and get into rhythm, the fiend stopped her.

“No, no, this won't do like this at all!” declared the demoness, pushing Thea to the side and rising up, a gleeful smile plastered on her face. “The feeling of your tight pussy milking my cock, while I'm lying beneath you and watching those huge boobs of yours jiggle in such a mesmerizing way... All the while knowing how much shame you feel due to the fact that you have to do this of your own volition... This feeling has to be savored properly, in the sanctuary of my home. We'll continue later, and now I'll take a look at other things this world has to offer. Including...” the fiend's gaze swept the hall and stopped on Lily, who frantically doubled her efforts in getting out of her bonds. “...You.”

“Get the hell away from me!” snapped the adventuress as the demon strutted towards her, the hellish rod swaying before her desperate eyes.

“Or what?” asked the monster in amusement, stopping before Lily and grasping her by the hair. “What will you do? Tell mommy and daddy? Oh, a friendly suggestion – don't even try to bite.” continued the demoness, grabbing her length with the other hand and dragging it across Lily's face. “You won't hurt me bad enough to discourage me from fucking you, but you'll definitely earn a break for a hour or so, during which I'll be tearing your teeth out, one by one. So? Why don't you be a good girl and open up?”

Lily grit her teeth, disgusted by the feeling of demonic phallus rubbing against her flesh and smearing it with sexual fluids. Is this it? Is there nothing she can do to save herself?

“Come on, wench.” urged the fiend, bringing the tip to the adventuress' lips. “Save us all some time and-”

A sound of teleportation spell interrupted her words, and the next instant a voice, dripping with contempt and controlled anger, came from behind.

“I do not look kindly upon trespassers in my home. Prepare yourself, hellspawn.”

Reavet stood before them, her hands raised high over her head, one of them clutching her staff. A pulsing knot of magical energies swirled above the sorceress, swelling larger by the second. The demoness sneered, letting go of Lily's hair and turning around to face the witch.

“Then you should teach your little friend not to invite strangers into the house. By the way – you know, it's rather rude of you, to force me into a fight in such state.” answered the demon, gesturing at her erect member. “On the other hand...” she paused, raking her lustful gaze over Reavet's lithe form, “I will have another pretty toy to enjoy when I win. Fair enough.”

As Reavet, not wasting her energy on replying, finished her spell and attacked, Lily's eyes went wide in disbelief. Instead of hurling the ball of energy at her opponent or crashing it down into the ground to hit the foe with the blast wave, the sorceress lowered it with her left hand and slowly tossed it at the demon, as if playing with a child. The demon's lips twisted into victorious snarl as she outstretched her hands forward, conjuring a magical barrier before them and easily intercepting the slowly flying projectile. As the spell hit the barrier and dissipated harmlessly, the sorceress dashed forward, sparks and jolts of fizzling magic shielding her from the demon's view. Bringing her staff down in a heavy overhead swing, the witch bashed her enemy right between the eyes. As the demoness dropped to the ground, clutching her head, Reavet muttered another spell, conjuring a spherical barrier around the foe. The sphere started to shrink, closing upon the captive inside, but the fiend recovered in time to perceive the danger. She drove her claw into the floor and a demonic sign appeared on the floor below her, glowing with unholy light. The next instant it was gone, taking the demon back into her realm.

“Damnation!” cursed the witch, noticing her apprentice's pitiful state. Dropping the staff, Reavet rushed to the girl, kneeling beside her and cradling her head. “Thea! Talk to me, my dear!”

Lily was about to ask the witch for assistance, but as she opened her mouth to speak, the door burst open and the duo of her friends entered the hall, running towards the women.

“Well...” muttered Lily, finally relaxing against the column. “At least you three seem to be fine.”

***

“... And then Reavet smacked her on the head, forcing her to crawl back to whatever hellhole she came from. The rest you know.” finished Lily.

Before tending to her apprentice and studying the newly acquired artifacts, Reavet led the trio to the other wing of the manor, allowing them to stay in the guestrooms for the night. Now Lily was sitting on a bed in one of the rooms, while worried Alzavia was perching on a nearby chair.

“Well, thank Goddess that Reavet has such a good attunement to her manor that allowed her to detect the demon's presence and rush to your aid by teleporting. Without her, it would have taken considerable time for us to even realize that something's wrong. And during this time...” Alza stopped, lowering her eyes. “Rape is a terrible thing, I'm glad that you were spared from such fate. It's regretful that Reavet's alacrity was not enough to save her apprentice in time... Poor Althea...”

Lily shuddered, thinking about the narrowness of her escape. With shaky hands, she brought a cup of tea to her lips and sipped the hot liquid, trying to warm her soul by warming her body. She spoke again:

“Curse that fun-rat-Annie or whatever she called herself. Girl with a dick! It seems that some unholy deity was pretty bored if they created such a being.”

“Futanari. It's a word that we had picked from the easterlings.”

Lily turned her head, staring at her friend with bewildered eyes.

“You know her?”

“Her? No, of course not. Futanari are not that rare. Maybe you don't run into one every day, but she is far from being one of a kind.”

“Heckin' great!” exclaimed Lily, putting her cup away and slapping herself on the forehead with her palm. “Now you are telling me that even a female-looking being may have a natural interest in getting into my pants! By the gods, sometimes I think that this world is a crazy place.”

“Well, the real world is peculiar to say the least. Have you never encountered a futanari before?”

“Of course I didn't! If I did, I would've done my damnedest to stay as far from them as po-”

Lily stopped mid-sentence when the realization hit her like a charging rock golem.

***

Several years ago, Lily was on her second or third adventure. She already knew her way around a crossbow, but had yet to master the sword, so she was even more reliant on having a close-combat specialists in her party. This time there were three of them – Lily and a pair of strong, independent fighter women from the north. The duo of northern warriors was a force to reckon with in a battle, and Lily was able to do her part unhindered by enemies closing on her and interfering with her shooting. Their adventuring together was pretty short, and the women weren't showing any kind of amorous interest towards her, but one particular situation was inviting assumptions in light of Lily's new knowledge.

The party made a camp by a river and separated: fighters delved into a nearby forest in search of firewood and game while Lily was to catch some fish in the river. Bringing her haul back to the campfire, Lily put the fish basket on the ground, crouched by it and pulled out her dagger. As she was preparing fish for cooking, she heard her companions' voices.

“C'mon! You promised me that you'll let me put my sword into your sheath on the next stop.”

“I did. And you did exactly that when we stayed at the inn, but you were so drunk that you don't remember anything.”

“Not true! I wasn't that wasted! And there was no such thing!”

“There was. If anything, it's my turn to use your sheath.”

As the voices drew closer, Gerda and Sigrid appeared from behind a large tree, approached the campfire and dropped gathered kindling and a dead boar to the ground.

“You sure picked an interesting subject to bicker about.” commented Lily without interrupting her work.

The northerners exchanged a glance and smiled.

“Come to think of it... Why don't we put our swords into your sheath?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me!”

Annoyed by the nonsense, Lily put down her dagger and fish, stood up and addressed the two.

“Excuse me? Have you seen the size of your swords? They are way larger than an average human sword! Besides, I don't have a sword, and my sheath is designed for a dagger, which mea-”

Upon hearing such words, the fighters burst into laughter.

“Good one, Lily!” grunted Sigrid, catching her breath. “Not in the way you mean it, but-”

“What's so funny?!” barked Lily. Pulling her sheath from her belt, she walked to the duo and grabbed Gerda's sword. “Look! Here's your big sword and here's my dagger sheath! Nowhere it can fit! Not to mention that putting two swo-the hell is wrong with you?!”

Lily's reasoning did not improve the situation in any way – instead, the warriors were driven further by her words. Sigrid dropped to the ground, pounding the dirt with her fist and howling with laughter, while Gerda barely managed to remain on her toes, clutching her stomach and cackling madly.

“Alright, I give up!” exclaimed Lily, dropping the sword to the ground and returning to the fish basket. “You are crazy, both of you! Talking some crap about swords and sheaths while anyone with a bit of common sense knows that a warrior does not need any sheath besides their own to put their swo-”

“AH-HAH-HAHHA-PLE-HAH-HA-SE! HA-HA-HAH-HAVE-MER-HAHHAHA-CY!” hollered Gerda. Sigrid was not laughing anymore as she was too busy coughing and gasping for air.

Lily returned to her work. Stupid wenches! Maybe choking to death will put some sense into their empty heads!

***

“Can't blame them for that!” said Alza, laughing at Lily's story. “If your guess is correct, if they were futanari and were talking about _that_ kind of swords and sheaths, then your remarks sounded funny indeed!”

“Yeah.” agreed Lily, joining in laughter despite her frayed nerves. Putting the empty cup onto a table by the bed, she stretched and looked at the ceiling. “Swords and sheaths... I suppose it's natural – if you have both, a pecker and a hole, then why should you have any other thoughts on your mind besides nailing somebody or getting nailed yourself.”

Yawning, the adventuress looked at her friend.

“Thanks for your support, Alza. I think I'm going to sleep now.”

The priestess rose at once, heading towards the door.

“Good night, Lily. Feel free to wake me if you need anything.”

“Good night.”

As the door of her own guest room closed behind her, Alza started to undress. Dropping her robe off her voluptuous body, she walked to a large mirror and looked herself over.

“No other thoughts? I'm afraid it's not that simple, my friend.”

***

“How about we study the human body and the spells that can affect it, mistress?”

Reavet raised her eyes from her book and looked at the apprentice. Usually Thea wasn't too interested in the direction of their studies and simply followed her mentor's lead. Was she finally showing interest in a particular field of magic?

“Sure, why not?” answered the witch enthusiastically, rising from her chair and approaching one of the bookshelves in the room. “I had a certain book there somewhe-wait a minute...”

Turning back to her apprentice, Reavet narrowed her eyes.

“Don't tell me that you want me to grow a penis and make love to you!”

“Wha-wha-what? No, nothing of the sort!” blurted Althea, blushing and looking away. “I just thought that we... Uh... Can... Study the body and cure diseases! Help people! And, also, uh...”

The witch put a hand over her eyes and slowly shook her head. It seemed that she would have to deal with a different kind of consequences of the demon's invasion...


	4. Serpent in the brambles

As the morning sun emerged from behind the mountains and began its daily ascent, a village slowly awakened from its nocturnal slumber. However, while most of the villagers were just waking up and preparing to go about their daily business, a certain early bird was already a step ahead of them. Darting into her yard, a raggedy woman locked the gate behind her and started walking towards her house.

“Eh-he-he-he!” giggled the woman, clutching a ball of twine in her hands and staring at it as if it was made of gold, an impressive arrangement of jagged and pointy teeth bared by her repulsive smile. “Stupid Claire! Maybe this will teach you not to leave things lying around. I only had to climb over the hedge, distract the dog, pick the lock, search a bit – and here it is, ready for the taking! What a magnificent find!”

Suddenly, an outburst of clucking noises reached the woman's ears, turning her grin upside down.

“My hens! I'll get you this time, bloody snatchers!”

Shoving the twine into one of the pockets of her ragtag dress, the woman broke into run and soon disappeared behind the house. A few seconds later, someone started rustling behind the tall, sturdy wooden fence surrounding the farm – unlike some stupid Claires (And also stupid Marys, stupid Toms, stupid reverend Josephs... The list is quite extensive.), the woman cared about her “rightfully” acquired belongings and went out of her way to make the fence as unassailable as possible. The rustling became louder and a board slid to the side, revealing a hole in the fence. Several kids crawled through the hole and started to look around, whispering excitedly between themselves.

“She's gone! Crazy Crocka is gone!”

“Great! While Jerry messes with hens and distracts her, we can get our hands on her stolen goods!”

“Where is it?”

“There, along the wall! This rubbish is just for show, she hides stuff behind it!”

Following the boy's direction, the kids soon found a barrel full of apples and proceeded to stuff the fruits into their pockets and a basket one of them was carrying. As they were almost done, the sound of steps came from behind the house.

“She's coming!”

“Run!”

Due to some reason, the returning owner chose to circle around the house instead of returning the way she left, which put her dangerously close to the hole the kids used to get inside. The boy who told the others about the goods turned around, pointing into the field.

“This way! There is a shack on the other side of the field, it has an outer door!”

Following their leader, the kids started running, bounding across the field towards the shack. A girl dropped one of her apples and stopped to retrieve it before darting after her friends.

“Stop, you goddamn thieves!”

Ignoring the woman's shouts, the gaggle continued to their destination. Soon the leader was fumbling with the outer door's bolt. Seeing that their escape route was secured, the girl turned her head, smiling at the crazy hag pursuing them. Turning back to her friends, she saw a scene that made her blood run cold.

On the other side of the shack, a looming wall of blackness was advancing towards the field, swallowing the kids who escaped through the building and were running away, cheering and laughing as if nothing was wrong. As the last of them disappeared in the darkness, the shack's inner door slowly started to turn on its hinges, closing by itself as if pushed by unseen hands. Frightened, the girl stopped running and came to a halt before the door as it slammed shut.

“Thought you could get away?” came a distorted voice from behind and the girl turned around, remembering about the angry farmer chasing after her. Her face paled, for everything behind the woman (When did she manage to get so close?!) was being consumed by darkness, its touch draining all the light and sound out of the world. In a matter of mere seconds, the grasp of darkness closed around the two, leaving them standing in a circle five meters wide. Something was wrong with the woman as well – she was walking towards the girl in unsettling manner, as if in slow motion, and with each step she changed. The farmer's ruddy mop of hair became long and well-kept, its redness deepening. She somehow grew taller, and while there was a glimmer of craziness in her eyes before, they were now shining with intense, unearthly radiance.

“Come here, you pipsqueak.” muttered the apparition, her gaze piercing the terrified girl. The woman's nails turned into claws and she tore her robe from her body, a large phallus jutting from her groin. “It's time to pay.”

Apples fell from the girl's shaking hands and she started screaming, her voice echoing through the silent, dead world.

“Aaaaah! Mommyyy! Daddyyy!”

Cruel hands grasped her by the sides and slammed her against the shack's door, knocking the air out of her lungs.

“Are you scared?” cackled the monster, two horns sprouting from her head and a lock of her red hair turning white. “That's it. Scream for me.”

Beside herself with fear, the girl wailed and kicked in the monster's grasp, pleading for salvation from this madness. A hand struck her face, colliding with her cheek hard. Then again. And again. Pain and terror were blending together, filling the child's soul with hopelessness. Stop... Make it stop...

Suddenly, the girl became aware of some kind of voice amid the oppressing silence of the dead world. Ceasing her screams, she attempted to understand it.

“Lily... Lily...” someone called from the distance. “Lily, wake up...”

The adventuress opened her eyes. She was lying on her bed, her body drenched with cold sweat. Alza was standing over her, holding her by the shoulder, hand outstretched for another slap.

“Alza!” gasped Lily as she jerked herself into sitting position, her wild gaze darting around. “Alza... I... She...”

“Thank Goddess!” exhaled the priestess, lowering her hand and pulling the adventuress into a hug.

Lily put her trembling hands around her friend, paralyzing fear still clawing at her heart. Dream... It was just a dream... Calm down...

***

Her rest once again disturbed by nightmares, Lily was anything but cheerful in the morning – and it seemed that someone was feeling as bad as she did, and that someone was the world. Heavy gray clouds carpeted the sky. Dreary, uneventful day dragged on and on. Ominous, almost palpable feeling of impending disaster was hanging in the air. Something was not right...

The evening caught the party in a small village, but they found little solace there. Peasants and housewives alike were trying to be friendly, yet their smiles felt hollow and unnatural, and so did their lives. One could not help but suspect something sinister going on behind the facades of these ancient rustic houses and the villagers' assurances that everything was fine and dandy in their settlement. In the light of such situation, nobody was surprised that the questing board was devoid of any tasks. Unwilling to spend the night in the shady village, the party was about to leave when a door of a nearby house opened and a voice called out to them.

“You three! Are you adventurers? Come inside, quickly, I require your aid.”

When the party entered the house, the host – a man wearing a scholar's robe – warily scanned the empty road, closed and locked the door, and ushered the trio into a large, dark room. As he lighted a candle, the friends looked around – both the place and its owner were vastly different from the rest of the village. The room's windows were bolted and curtained, not a single sun ray reached inside. Various books and manuscripts were scattered around the room, unknown symbols covering the sheets of paper. Apart from impressive amount of written otherworldly knowledge, the room contained many other, more practical, objects. Dagger. Potions. Flintlock gun. Pickaxe. Ropes. A solid arsenal for all kinds of expeditions.

Such was the room of the tall, haggard man that was looking the three companions over. His whole being was bearing various marks of heavy mental and physical strain. While his age was probably around thirty years or so, his weary face and wiry hands, not to mention the unkempt, completely gray hair, made him look much older. However, despite the exhaustion and stress, the man's eyes were burning with fierce, indomitable determination. Whatever burden was weighing down on his shoulders, he was standing tall in the face of adversity.

“I won't ask who you are and what you can do.” said the man, sweeping the room with his gaze. “I'm in the middle of nowhere, with not a soul I can trust in sight. Time is running out, and I'm in dire need of assistance. Hear me out, take the job, or leave as fast as you can – and don't get me wrong, it's not me who you should be afraid of.”

“Let's hear it, then.” said Lily.

Nodding, the man began his story.

“I won't go into details – as I've learned the hard way, it is better to leave some things in the darkness, for the sake of preserving one's mind. There is a certain grimoire that contains evil of such unfathomable magnitude that its mere existence is a threat to the world. I've been hunting for this tome for years, fighting a desperate, uphill battle against the forces of evil and their minions. The struggle is grim and unforgiving, but I'm not alone. Others are standing side by side with me, and we will see this through, or perish. Many already did. I still see their faces in my dreams...

However, my own resources and strength are running low. My ravaged body and faltering sanity will not survive through another year of this. Luckily, it seems that I'm spared from such a fate, for my quest is reaching its conclusion. I tracked the tome to an ancient temple on a nearby hill. According to my studies, a certain cult possesses the book, and its intentions are sinister to say the least.”

The scholar stopped, taking one of the papers from a table and looking through it.

“We still have time – if my research and predictions are correct, an important event will be taking place at the beginning of the next week. Certain celestial bodies will align in a particular way, upsetting the natural flow of magic. The cult knows about it, and will be performing a ritual using the book, utilizing the shift in the balance to their advantage. What will they try to achieve, I neither know nor care. It is paramount to intervene, and to prevent them from reaching their goal.”

Rising his eyes from the paper, the man continued.

“My hands are tied. I still have preparations to make, and my associates are yet to arrive. We'll probably be ready for the assault before the week passes, but I'm not taking any chances if I can help it. Evil is chaotic and unpredictable, any delay or accident can doom us all. Someone must act now, and that someone will be you. Go to the temple. Cut them down. Retrieve the book before it's too late – but don't try to destroy it by yourselves. A special procedure must be performed if we intend to banish the evil from this realm.”

Fetching a small bag of coins from somewhere, the scholar tossed it to Lily.

“Here, you'll get twice as much when the task is completed. As I've said before, I cannot trust these farmers, ten to one they are in league with the cultists. Don't bring the tome back here, wait for me in the temple and guard it. If I fail to arrive within two weeks... It will be up to you to confront the book's madness. Let's hope it does not come to that... Now, go. And, whatever happens – do not, I urge you, do not open the book! We must protect the world from the horror dwelling within, at any cost!”

***

Surprisingly, the raid into the temple turned out to be the best part of the day – the cult's followers consisted of a score of men and women clad in dark robes and armed with ceremonial daggers, and the cult leader whose devotion to his dark deity twisted him into a maddened, bloodthirsty beast. It seemed that the cultists were relying on superior numbers, subterfuge and intimidation to achieve their goals, for there was little they could do against a well-organized party launching an all-out attack. After the boring day, queer reception in the village, and exhausting walk to the hill, a refreshing bout of righteous carnage lifted the party's spirits significantly. Now, with the cultists' bodies littering the floor and the building thoroughly searched, the trio found themselves standing in the temple's sanctum, where an ancient book was resting on an ornate pedestal.

“Nice job everyone!” said Lily. Holstering her sword, she took a step towards the pedestal, reaching for the book with her hand. “Now then, let's see what we have in here.”

“Lily!” gasped Alza, quickly moving forward to forestall her friend. “What are you doing?! The scholar-”

“Oh yeah?! The scholar told us not to open the book because it is dangerous? And you believed him?” inquired Lily, folding her arms on her chest. “What if the book contains valuable information that can be sold for a fortune? What if he knew it and invented this whole rigmarole about terrible evil and doom of the world? Looks like a reasonable thing to do, to prevent us from learning about the book's contents and selling it without giving him his cut. Are you going to just handle the book to him and walk away without a word?”

“I sure do.” retorted Alza. “Without a word, but with the payment. I've seen this man, and I tend to believe him. If he told the truth, then opening the book will be dangerous for us, and maybe for others too. And even if he did not, if you are right and he's using us to profit from the book... Frankly, I don't care. He offered us a deal, we thought it over, and accepted – I would even say that we got some easy money, considering how little effort it took to retrieve the book.”

“But, imagine the possibilities! What if the book costs thousa-”

“Lily, I'm not going to gamble my life, body and sanity under the circumstances at hand. I agree that your theory sounds plausible – were we in a large city, it would have been reasonable to spend some money by paying a powerful wizard to identify the book. We have no such options. Either we handle the book to the scholar when he arrives, or we grab it and depart. In the second case we'll make an enemy for life, either by endangering the world or by depriving him of his money – and there is still a possibility that the book may harm us.”

Flabbergasted, Lily turned to Dor for support, but the knight shook his head.

“Two against one, huh...” muttered Lily, gritting her teeth. “Very well then. As we found out, that corridor connects the sanctum with a number of rooms, and has no other exits. There were decent beds in these rooms – I'm beat after the long day, so I think I'll peruse one. Keep an eye on that goddamn book or someone may steal it, and that someone could be me.”

Turning on her heel, the girl walked into the corridor and entered one of the rooms, disappearing from her companions' sight.

“Well, I can agree with Lily on one thing.” said Alza, stretching her arms and yawning. “Getting some sleep sounds like a great idea.” Turning to the warrior, she made a suggestion: “How about this – you keep watch in here for four or five hours, then wake me up and I take your place until morning? This way the book, as well as the two of us who are resting, will be protected during the night.”

Several minutes later, the priestess walked into the corridor and began looking for a place to sleep. Peeking into one of the doorways, she found Lily lying on a bed and staring into ceiling – Alza exchanged a glance with her, but said nothing. Finding a suitable room, the priestess closed the door, checked the room for possible unexpected dangers, and started preparing for sleep.

As his friend's back disappeared in the corridor, Dor turned around and walked to the pedestal. So much fuss for this bunch of paper... In a single motion, the fingers of the plated gauntlet closed around the book's cover and lifted it from its seat.

***

In the dead of the night, a figure sneaked out of the room and entered the corridor, carefully making its way towards the sanctum. During the debate about the book, Lily wasn't actually planning to act against her friends' decision – however, as she was lying in the room and contemplating the situation, she found herself struggling against the temptation. It didn't take very long until the adventuress, swayed by avarice, folded and decided to try and take a look at the book. Maybe even scuttle away with it – true, they were her friends, but... What if the book turned out to be really valuable?

Another thought crossed Lily's mind and she frowned. Come to think of it, she had plenty of trouble after joining their party. Uneasiness caused by Dor's silence and unnerving presence... Cursed wound... Kiss with Alza... Bad dreams... Not to mention the not-so-pleasant introduction to the existence of ftu... Futo... Gah, girls with extra parts! True, all these events weren't exactly caused by efforts and intentions of the two, but... Maybe her streak of bad luck would end if she parts ways with them... Maybe the three of them weren't meant to travel together... Also... What if they actually were plotting behind her back, biding their time and waiting for an opportunity...

Carefully peeking into the sanctum, the adventuress caught sight of the knight sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the pedestal. Unable to tell whether Dor was sleeping or not, Lily straightened and entered the sanctum, showing herself. When the knight did not react, she began tip-toeing towards him, stopping a few steps away. Surprisingly, the warrior was clutching the book in his hand. Were they really that suspicious of her? Well, they were right in doing so...

“Dor!” whispered Lily. “Dor, are you asleep? I need to talk to you.”

Raising her voice several times and getting no answer, the girl decided that the warrior was indeed sleeping. Carefully, painstakingly slowly, Lily closed the distance and crouched, eyeing the grimoire held by the massive gauntlet. What if they were testing her? What if the knight was pretending? But... The book... The riches... Oh, right, she wasn't stealing the book, she was worried that the book somehow afflicted Dor – he was sleeping on the post, after all. And she wanted to remove the tome from his hand, and to do it carefully to avoid the horror's attention. Sure, that's how it was. Extending her hand, the woman started carefully pulling the book out of the grip of metallic fingers.

***

Sneaking back into her room, Lily closed the door and leaned against it, clutching her prize in her hands. Unfortunately, there was no lock on the door, but... If her friends failed to jump on her so far, they were probably unaware of her actions. By the time they'll find out about the book, she'll skim through it and either return it or run away with it. So far, everything was going just fine – how convenient it was for the knight to fall asleep on his duty. While it was possible that monsters from the grimoire, and not sleep, seized Dor, she would worry about that later. Taking a few steps away from the door, the adventuress carefully opened the book, looking at the first page covered with symbols unknown to her.

Before she could turn another page, a blast of magic erupted from the book and knocked Lily away. Panicking, the girl attempted to jump up and reach for her sword, but, to her horror, realized that she could not move a muscle. Meanwhile, a triumphant voice sounded in her head.

“Finally! After centuries of waiting, I'm free once more! Now, the world is mine to conquer!”

“What?!” thought Lily, trying to regain control of her body. “Who are you?! What have you done with me?!”

“Hush, insect! You've opened an eldritch book, even though others warned you not to, and now you ask questions? You will be calling me 'Mistress' and serving as my minion, that's all you need to know, for now. Speaking of which...”

Lily rose from the floor and took a few steps, her body impelled by will that wasn't her own. As the adventuress frantically tried to think of something, she approached a large mirror and looked herself over. While her eyes were obeying her captor, Lily still managed to notice that something was wrong in the mirror. A figure in dark blue dress was hovering behind her, a pale hand holding Lily by the neck, yet she felt no touch. Besides the dress and black hair, Lily noticed the chains hanging from the woman's wrists. Was it some kind of evil spirit? Suddenly, her own hands grasped at her breasts and squeezed them.

“What the hell! What are you do-”

“Hmm...” mused the voice, ignoring the human's mental cries. “You know, this body is rather mediocre... Chest and buttocks are nothing to brag about... Hair looks like it belongs to a youthful, good-for-nothing man... Hey, quit struggling, would you!”

Sparked by the insult, a flash of rage momentarily broke the spell, but the spirit quickly reasserted her control.

“Hmph, what an unruly slave! It seems that I'll have to be disciplining you hard. Alright then.”

Moving to her waist, Lily's hands started fidgeting with her belt. A few seconds later the pants dropped to the floor around her ankles, and her right hand reached into her panties.

“No! Stop! Don't!”

Lily's objections fell on deaf ears: urged by the apparition, her digits touched her private area. Woman's eyes widened as her body was wracked by a powerful jolt of pleasure – she played with herself many times before, but not even once it felt so unbelievably good. As her fingers continued to caress her womanhood, the adventuress dropped to the floor, her face contorting into a lewd, drooling grimace. Mere seconds later she reached her climax, thrashing wildly as wave after wave of shameful delight washed over her.

“How does it feel?” murmured the voice. “Your body is mine. I can reach into the deepest parts of your being, touching the pleasure spots that you weren't even aware of... Stop your futile squirming, slave. You belong to me. Submit...”

“Screw you! Get out of my body!” thought the woman, her breath heavy and uneven.

“Fine, let's try that again.”

Lily's hand darted into her underwear once more, while the second one started to caress her chest, kneading the flesh through her clothes. Woman's eyes rolled into her skull, her mind once more overwhelmed by carnal bliss. So strange... Her own fingers were stimulating her, yet they were driven by someone else, by the unseen puppeteer residing in her head... The unnatural duality of the situation was magnifying the sensations, driving her mad with their intensity. It did not take long until the second orgasm descended upon her – and stopping there was not on spirit's mind...

How much time had passed? Lily knew not... However, at some point she found herself lying on the floor, the haze of unwanted pleasure slowly fading from her eyes. To her surprise, the girl realized that she was able to control herself once more. She started stirring, but her tormentor was far from done with her.

“So? Still no pledge of loyalty?” sang the voice – however, now it was propagating normally rather than manifesting inside Lily's head. Furthermore, the adventuress could feel the weight of a body pressing her into the floor, and a pale manacled hand caressing her neck. “Well then... I can manifest in the real world for a short time. How about we make use of it and have some fun?”

It wasn't too hard to understand what kind of fun the spirit had in mind – apart from the woman's breasts squishing against her back, Lily was feeling something prodding at her rump. Cursing her luck for throwing her into the clutches of yet another “sword”-wielding woman, the adventuress screamed for help and put her heart and soul into breaking free – she spent her entire life without being taken against her will, and she was damn sure that she liked it this way. To her anger and frustration, she was fighting an uneven battle and steadily losing it – her body was weakened by the nerve-wracking orgasms and lingering effects of possession, while the spirit's temporary flesh was brimming with power.

“Tarnation!” cursed the apparition, struggling to free her rod from the confines of her long, elaborate dress. “I should really put some thought into renovating my wardrobe! This garment is anything but convenient when it comes to sticking your member into uncooperative wenches – not to mention the fact that it is, most likely, out of fashion by now. Oh well, that will have to wait until I get my permanent body back.”

Grappled and overpowered, the adventuress was lying under her captor, heart pounding in her chest. All was lost. She had been spared before, but there was no salvation this time, no allies to return from the expedition and to save her from being violated. Rape. Prolonged possession. Eventual surrender. Servitude to the horror. Grief. Suffering. Closing her eyes, Lily braced for the inevitable. Forgive me, my friends. I betrayed your trust, and now I'll pay for it with my life.

“There we go!” exclaimed the spirit, her voice dripping with excitement. “Now, let's ju-”

“Begone, wicked thing!”

Jerking to attention, Lily turned her head and was blinded by a flash of light coming from the doorway. As the air was pierced by a deafening shriek, the adventuress felt the futanari's grip weakening – losing no time, she tumbled, throwing the monster off herself. Another blast of holy magic illuminated the room and the shriek repeated. Jumping to her feet, Lily saw Alza standing near the door, and the unsteady form of the spirit trembling in the air.

“Nooo!” screamed the voice. “Not again! Not into the booook...”

Twisting and shifting, the spirit's fading body stretched through the air, disappearing into the pages of the grimoire. In a matter of seconds she was gone, and the book closed shut. Lowering her outstretched hand, the priestess sighed.

“What in the name of the Goddess-”

Alza's words weren't heard. Dropping to her knees and then to the ground, Lily curled up, covered her face with her palms and started to wail, tears of relief, guilt and regret streaming from her eyes.

***

Biting back the words of reproach, the priestess knelt down beside the adventuress, putting a palm on her shoulder. While Lily ignored the party's decision and put them all into danger, chastising her right now, after the shock she'd just received, would be cruel. Saying nothing, the woman of faith simply sat there, silently comforting Lily and patiently waiting for her to calm down.

Lily's lament continued for quite some time. Cries of sorrow... Self-reproach... Tears... Apologies... Suddenly, the girl's sobbing ceased abruptly, and the silence was followed by a shout:

“Dor!”

“Huh?” wondered the priestess in puzzlement, looking at the doorway and seeing no sign of the knight. “What do you mean?”

“He was holding the book, and not moving! I thought he was sleeping, but what if he wasn't?! What if this thing did something to him?!”

The women scrambled to their feet, dashing towards the door. Warrior's armor was concealing him from the outside world, making it incredibly difficult to understand his condition at any given moment – which was worrying under the circumstances at hand. As the duo entered the sanctum, the knight was still sitting motionlessly, his back against the pedestal.

“Dor! Dor, wake up!” yelled Lily, running to their friend and shaking him by the arm. Her efforts barely moved the warrior, and he showed no signs of life. “Dor, please! Talk to us!”

Suddenly, the knight's helmet was impacted by something – to her astonishment, Lily realized that it was the grimoire thrown at him. Folding her arms on her chest, Alza addressed the sitting figure.

“Look at this watchman, marvel at his alertness! We are dealing with a monster and rising one hell of a ruckus in the process, yet you are still sleeping like a log!”

Dumbfounded, Lily stared at the priestess. What the hell was she thinking? They rushed to Dor's aid out of fear for his welfare, and now she was treating him like she knew for sure that he simply fell asleep? The adventuress was about to voice her thoughts, but the knight started moving. Hastily rising to his feet and fumbling for his sword, Dor looked around. Realizing that the sanctum was devoid of any enemies, he stopped, looking at the women in puzzlement.

“Lily's curiosity got the best of her and, due to your negligence, she managed to steal the book, and almost got ravished by the monster inhabiting it! True, she is at fault herself, but still – you should be ashamed!”

The knight fidgeted on the spot, evading the priestess's gaze. He was looking rather conscience-stricken.

“Alright, alright, I see that you are sorry. Oh, wait a minute! What if you aren't Dor? What if you are a monster from the book possessing our friend?”

Stepping closer to the warrior, Alza put her palm onto his chestplate, channeling her holy magic. A second later, she withdrew the hand and smiled.

“No, everything seems to be alright. At least to me – who knows, maybe some unimaginable eldritch abomination is concealing itself well enough, so we'll be dead or worse as soon as it makes its move.”

Gosh, thought Lily, you sure know how to brighten the mood.

***

In the morning, a group lead by the scholar arrived at the temple. Men and women, soldiers and priests, wanderers and outlaws – all of them were united by their grim purpose, and bore the scars inflicted by pursuit of it. Thrilled by the party's success, the scholar lost no time in beginning the ritual of the book's destruction. As he and a few others were drawing a circle on the sanctum's floor and inscribing eldritch symbols into it, several mystical figures started to chant. Finally, when the chant was finished and the circle completed, the scholar put the grimoire in the center of the circle. The chanting began anew, and the symbols on the floor started to glow. Several minutes later, the figures' voices ceased abruptly, and one of them – a woman in a hooded robe holding a lantern – pointed at the book. Grabbing a torch, the scholar darted into the circle and ignited the tome with it. Soon, nothing was left but a pile of ash on the ground.

“At last...” said the scholar, turning to the trio with a weary smile. “At last, we can settle down and catch our breath. Evil is eternal, and the time will come when we'll have to stand against it once more – but this wretched book is destroyed, and this chapter of our story is concluded. You weren't fighting by our side during these dark years, but your aid came at the crucial moment, and is deeply appreciated. Here, the reward that was promised to you.”

Taking the bag of coins, Lily looked around. She had her doubts before, but now it seemed that all this time the scholar had been saying nothing but cold, hard truth: the grimoire's end had an undeniable effect on the gathering. Several individuals collapsed on the spot, strain and fatigue sealed away by force of will finally catching up with them. A towering giant of a man, covered with countless scars and gruesome trophies, was crying like a baby, his face buried in his palms – and he wasn't alone.

Lowering her eyes, Lily looked at the ash. Due to her own greed, she caught a glimpse of the horror that would befall the world if it wasn't for Alza and the ritual. Well, at least she was safe now. And she will never see that accursed spirit again. Never. Ever.

***

As the party was preparing to leave, they were approached by the hooded woman. Now, seeing her up-close, the trio realized that the woman was blind, her eyes covered by a black band of cloth running around her head.

“Greetings. Do you want something?” asked Alza.

“Wisps of possibility circle the light. Show me the one that holds the truth.” said the woman in a cold voice. Stopping before Lily, she faced her and continued. “Bleak night in the fortress of stone, careless maiden tempted by curiosity...”

“Uh...” replied Lily, unsure what to make of the puzzling words. “I'm not sure I understand...”

“The lock!” demanded the woman, brandishing her lantern. “Were your hands touching the lock?! Answer! The lock on the beast's cage bore the marks!”

“What lock are you talking about?!” exclaimed Lily, taking a step back. “Give me a break! I'm running into trouble after trouble – the last one being invoked by a mere look at the blasted book's first page – and now you are confusing me with words that make no sense to me! I saw no locks and touched none!”

“Aha.” replied the woman, somehow mollified by the answer. “The actors' scripts are easier to read now. Thank you.” Waving her lantern slightly, the woman smiled at Lily. “Lighten up, young one. Your path was rough so far, but I see a friend knocking on your door. Be careful, though, they aren't on the best terms with the law.”

Turning around, the mysterious woman walked away. After exchanging puzzled glances, the party finished their preparations and departed, leaving behind the temple and the tome hunters.

Approaching one of the sanctum's walls, the woman stopped, studying the symbols carved into the stone. Several seconds later, she was joined by the scholar.

“So?” inquired the man.

“My grasp in the dark found its mark. Arbalester did open the book.”

“What?!” wondered the man, keeping his tone even with some effort. “She did that, yet she is unharmed and untainted?!”

“Indeed.” replied the woman, peering into her lantern with her sightless eyes. “The field of brambles is dark and unforgiving, malicious venom drips from the thorns... It takes a nimble serpent to slither through without a scratch...”

“I see...” said the scholar, relaxing once more. “At least we can rest assured that the grimoire failed in spreading its corruption and was destroyed. Let's hope that this serpent won't be aiming its fangs at us...”


End file.
